


the other side of someday

by JustThePlanets



Category: Polygon/McElroy Vlogs & Podcasts RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pre-Slash, Remix, Selkies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 18:47:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23838979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustThePlanets/pseuds/JustThePlanets
Summary: Pat reaches out, hand hovering for just a moment over the hoodie, then takes it in his hands, and he immediately knows that this is the most important thing in the world.
Relationships: Brian David Gilbert/Kevin Punt, Brian David Gilbert/Patrick Gill
Comments: 12
Kudos: 26
Collections: Polygon Remix Challenge April 2020





	the other side of someday

**Author's Note:**

  * For [segmentcalled](https://archiveofourown.org/users/segmentcalled/gifts).
  * Inspired by [layin' down a law that i live by](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19851799) by [segmentcalled](https://archiveofourown.org/users/segmentcalled/pseuds/segmentcalled). 

> This is my first attempt at remixing something, but this scene in the original fic is so, so important to me, I just wanted to explore it from Pat's POV. I hope I did it justice! 
> 
> Please read the original work. It's so very good.

Kevin is a little bit of a jerk. And Pat’s pretty sure that that’s not just the  _ bitterangryrjealousy _ talking. He’s a little pompous, a little bit full of himself, but he’s making an effort at least. So he’s not a total asshole. But that doesn’t mean he deserves a medal or anything. 

Pat can see why Brian is going to end things. The way Kevin just sorta talks over him and the stilted way Brian speaks, like he’s just waiting for Kevin to say something to contradict him, it’s almost heartbreaking to watch. 

Luckily he doesn’t have to watch it for long. 

Pat is not typically a smooth person. He’s not particularly clumsy either, but somehow he’s able to pull off a clever little flub to soak Kevin’s shirt and Brian’s hoodie and when Kevin retreats to the bathroom, Pat makes his move. 

He reaches out, hand hovering for just a moment over the hoodie, then takes it in his hands, and he immediately knows that this is _ the most important thing in the world. _

Pat hadn’t been expecting — hadn’t known — didn’t think — that it would be like this. The hoodie is unassuming, a light blue color that feels like heaven in his hands, despite the dampness from the wate. And for a moment, all Pat wants in the world is to shrug it over his shoulders, to feel the weight of it around him, to encase himself in the impossibly soft fabric. He can just imagine how comfortable it would be, like a second skin. And he feels like it belongs there, like there’s nowhere else in the world it wants to be. 

And that’s the thing, the jacket is calling to him. It’s not just an object, not just cursed or spelled or whatever. It’s  _ alive _ and it seems to want him just as much as he wants it. And it’s so hard to ignore it, to push past the way it curls around his mind and tries to ensorcell him. And he can feel himself falling, falling, falling. 

Pat sucks in a breath through his teeth, sharp, and he tries to ignore the pull, deep in his navel, because this isn’t his. It’s not his, it’s not, but, oh, it could be. And that thought is so, so dangerous to entertain. 

If he wanted, he could take it, he could put it on and walk out of the restaurant and never see Brian or Kevin again. He could abscond with it and start a new life and no one would find him and this hoodie would be his and, oh, Pat  _ wants.  _

But. 

But he looks up, meets Brian’s eyes, sees the hesitation and the fear and the trepidation, and his world reorients. 

And he knows that this jacket is  _ not  _ the most important thing in the world. No, Pat’s pretty sure the most important thing to him is currently sitting across the table, and Pat can’t bear being the source of fear on Brian’s face. He wants, more than anything, for Brian to be happy, to be comfortable. And it’s easy, once that realization sets in, to just. 

Hand the jacket over. 

Once the jacket is out of Pat’s hands, his mind feels a lot clearer, and the shame sets in. He doesn’t know how long he spent deliberating, it couldn’t have been more than a moment or two, but it felt like hours. He had hoped that he would be immune to whatever power the thing seems to have over humans, but now he realizes just how naive and foolhardy he had been. 

The utter relief and joy that spreads across Brian’s face is worth twenty of those jackets, and given the choice, Pat wouldn’t trade it for the world. 

Brian hugs the jacket to his chest before he pulls it on, and the way his shoulders straighten, and the way the anxiety seeps out of his expression, makes everything worth it. It’s obvious now, more than ever, that the hoodie really is Brian’s skin. His shield against the rest of the world. Pat’s heart soars at the sight of Brian looking more comfortable than he has since Kevin took the hoodie in the first place. 

“Thank you,” Brian whispers, absentmindedly running his fingers along the fabric of one of his sleeves. 

Guilt twists in Pat’s gut, but he stomps it out. “Of course,” Pat says. Brian’s face is so earnest and grateful, Pat can’t even begin to regret any of it. He made the right choice in the end, and his fight is over, but Brian’s isn’t. Pat swallows and says, “If you need me to duck out for a bit — I’ll pay attention, I can take a hint.”

“Thank you. Really. Thank you so much.” Brian looks like Pat’s given him the world, and it’s that in the end, that really lets Pat forget about his initial reaction. 

Brian deserves the world. The least Pat could do was help him with this. His heart feels so light, even when Kevin returns to the table. 

Kevin blessedly doesn’t say anything about the hoodie, and Pat is quietly grateful. He doesn’t know what he would do if Kevin tried to take it back, but he suspects it wouldn’t be pretty. 

Later, Pat watches the two of them walk away, and he knows what’s about to happen. He almost feels bad for Kevin, because he’s about to lose the best person in the world and he doesn’t even know it. But he doesn’t deserve Brian anyway.

Pat might be fooling himself, thinking that maybe he himself might be worthy of Brian, but he lets himself be hopeful. It’s selfish, maybe, to think about how much better he would treat Brian while Brian is going through such a difficult time, but Pat knows it’s true.

If Brian doesn’t want him, that’s okay, but Pat thinks, maybe, there’s something there. A possibility charged in the air that is pulling them together, stronger even than the pull of Brian’s hoodie. 

Pat lets that thought carry him to the car, his steps buoyant. He’s ready for anything when Brian returns, but he hopes. 

Oh, does he hope.


End file.
